Jamie T’s 2007 debut album Panic Prevention was an instant classic, ambitious and original, but the UK songwriter has struggled reach that standard again. With two fairly lack-lustre studio albums in between, Magnolia Melancholiatakes us back to where it all started.
The six-track EP is as raw as it gets. It starts with the smooth, reggae-inspired Don’t You Find, which crackles and kicks along just enough to keep you wanting more. Marilyn Monroe is classic Britpop, echoing the likes of The Libertines or early Arctic Monkeys. A cover of Bran Van 3000’s Mama Don’t Smoke sounds like it was recorded in an intimate bar setting, which adds to the charm and feeling. Carrying on the theme of mamas, the title track, Magnolia Melancholia, is as vocally-driven as T’s earliest and best work. Riverbedis probably the weakest track, building slowly but never really evolving into anything memorable. The EP could’ve used another pick-me-up to finish, but instead drops the tempo further with another cover, this time The Replacements’ Bastards of Young.
If this were any artist’s debut EP it would be impressive, and it’s refreshing to hear Jamie T strip it all back and rediscover his roots – after all, this is the kind of music that got him here in the first place.
BY CHRIS BRIGHT
